World Analysis- Final Fantasy 7

What can be said about Final Fantasy 7, that has not already been said? Very little, if anything. One of the most influential games ever made, this game pretty kicked open the door for the RPG market outside of Japan. Like any good RPG, Final Fantasy 7 takes place in a constructed world, and it is this world that I wish to analyze.

The Planet

The world of Final Fantasy 7, referred in game simply as the Planet, is a united world, undivided by nations of any sort. There has not been a war for over ten years. There are no governments anywhere to tell the citizens what to do, what to think, and what to say. There are also no taxes (there is no evidence for it), so every coin earned by the people, stays with the people. The markets are absolutely free, and there is very little, if anything, that stops a merchant from just opening up a box of wares, setting up a table, and calling it a store. It's a libertarian Utopia.

But it's hell. There may be no governments, but there is still a power that rules over the world. This power is the Shinra Electric Power Company. Yes, you've read that right. A private enterprise that specializes in providing people with electricity rules the world. How?

The Shinra used to be a weapons manufacture company that, one day, discovered a new power source. Far more reliable than oil or coal, and loads more plentiful, this power source could be extracted from anywhere, manufactured, and then provide the people with cheap, steady, and reliable electricity. This power source is Mako. The problem? Mako is pretty much what keeps the planet together.

To be more precise, Mako is condensed spirit energy, extracted from the Lifestream, which is kind of like the blood of the planet. I want you to imagine a race of parasites that live on your skin. These parasites, for a long time, have been living in peace with you, maybe not with each other. One day, a few individuals discover your blood, and then discover that they can turn your blood into electricity via a process that requires them to extract your blood with tubes. They start sticking these tubes right into your skin, extracting your blood continuously. The parts of your body near the tubes become scabby, bruised, and somewhat infected. That is what Shinra is doing to the Planet.

The people? They live. Some live considerably better than others. Not all corners of the planet have Mako reactors, which allows for many places to retain their natural look. But Midgar, the de facto capital of the world, is a hellish place to be. The city is divided into two parts. The more affluent part is located upon a giant metal plate built hundreds of feet above ground. It contains cobblestone streets, fine architecture, and the city's eight Mako reactors supply the city with much needed electricity, making life there easy. The part below the plate...

Not pictured: A safe place to raise a family.

Pictured: A shanty town that is home to hundreds of people, including children

Below the plate of Midgar, below the affluence, lay the less fortunate. Here in the slums of Midgar lay those forgotten by the elite, the ones discarded by the market that had no need for them. The slums never see the sunshine, for the plate blocks out the sky. Pollution is rampant, crime is everywhere, and there is little escape. There are a lucky few that dream of leaving the slums, to go up above and escape this hell on earth, but the truth is that most people that end up here, stay here. But why would anyone stay here? Well, I will just let this in game quote explain it:

"Maybe it's cuz they ain't got no money. Or maybe it's cuz they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."-Barret Wallace, when asked why wouldn't the people in the slums simply move out of the slums.

This is one of the more economically diverse slums in Midgar. That structure in the middle houses a pair of stores that sell medicines and necessities, while the wrecked bus sells a few low grade weapons. Free Market for the win! (sarcasm)

There is a part of the Midgar slums, of course, that is more affluent and more economically stable. That place is called Wall Market. 

This is but a small corner of Wall Market. In this photo: A restaurant, a boutique, a Materia (orbs that give one the ability to use magic) store, a pharmacy, a diner, and a hotel. The path going right leads to a brothel, and the path going up leads to a crime lord's mansion.

Aside from Midgar, what else is there? There's also the harbor city of Junon, which may as well be called Little Midgar by the Sea, since the two cities are extremely similar. Like Midgar, Junon also has a poorer area located directly beneath the more affluent part. The poorer area is also heavily polluted, not very productive, and overall unsafe.

Across the sea is Costa del Sol, a resort town that houses a beautiful beach, very nice hotels, and serves a good deal of tropical drinks. A top notch tourist resort, it is.

Across the mountains from Costa del Sol lays the Gold Saucer, the world's finest amusement park. Built in the middle of a desert, on top of several golden plates located miles above ground, this is THE place for family fun. To enter it, you just have to pass through the town of North Corel.

Child: Mommy, why do all these people live in tents and rubble?

Mother: Because fuck the poor. Come on, son. We'll miss the cable car to the Gold Saucer.

Do you see the pattern here? In the Planet, the world can be divided between two people: the haves and have nots. There are people who have money, and people who don't. And the people that don't have money have NOTHING. They have no opportunities, no power, no rights, no hope. If you have money, you can buy yourself a God damn villa by the beach. If you don't have money, you learn to call a fucking sewer pipe home. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a society with zero safety nets looks like.

Final Fantasy 7 was released in 1997. That was sixteen years ago, as of this writing. When it was released, it was seen as a dark, gritty game that brought gaming to a whole new level. Ever since, several games have tried to copy the elements that made this game so good: a brooding hero, a complex plot, a very unique world, top notch graphics, etc. But few games can come close to what Final Fantasy 7 has accomplished completely by accident: it's still relevant. The realities of 1997 (social inequality, the destructive nature of capitalism, environmentalism) are still around today. Final Fantasy 7 touched in 1997, sixteen years ago, several topics that are still hot button to this day. Sixteen years, ladies and gentlemen.

And there are people out there that WANT to live in a world like the Planet! They WANT a world with no social safety nets! They want a world of haves and have nots, they want a world where everything, even the police, is handled by private corporations. These people do not know what it's like to live with nothing. That's why a good many of them refer to the have nots as "soon to haves". But such a term is merely a masking term, to hide the very fact that they don't have what others have: money. And in a society where money is the key to everything, even safety, to not have it is more than a disadvantage, it's a death mark.

And that's the world of Final Fantasy 7. A world where having money is the one difference between living in a villa and living in a sewer pipe. Want to live on this world? Be my guest. I'd rather live in the world of Final Fantasy 8, but that's something I'll cover in my next entry.

On the fall of the Scarlet Moon Empire- A tale of the death of a nation.

Suikoden 1, one of the greatest Role Playing Games ever, is more than the story of a ragtag bunch of misfits overthrowing a corrupt empire. It's a fable, a warning to all nations, to all heads of states and to all citizens. Here's why.

Suikoden 1 takes place in the Scarlet Moon Empire, a country located in the nameless world of the Suikoden series. It completely surrounds a lake called Toran, a lake so large it is almost an inland sea. The empire is located south of the City-States of Jowston, which is officially an enemy nation; east of an as yet unnamed country, and north of what was once known as Kooluk, a nation which was also hostile towards Scarlet Moon due to border disputes.

Map of the Scarlet Moon Empire, not to scale. 

The Scarlet Moon Empire was founded well over two hundred years before Suikoden 1 takes place, in the year 230 of the in game calendar. Founded by Kranach Rugner, nicknamed the Knight of the Scarlet Moon, this region used to be a part of a much larger nation known as Harmonia, a nation that still exists during the time of Suikoden 1. Seventy years after its founding, the new empire began to have several border disputes with its southern neighbor, the Kooluk Empire. During the time where Scarlet Moon gained the upper hand, many of its nobles would ride unto the villages south of the Scarlet Moon-Kooluk border, where they would engage in what would cruelly be called "Human hunts", a fancy name for pillaging, murdering and probably raping the defenseless Kooluk citizens. These "human hunts", through a turn of events far too extensive to discuss at this moment, eventually led to the dissolution of Kooluk. With Kooluk destroyed, Scarlet Moon found itself facing a new enemy: their northern neighbor, the newly founded City-States of Jowston. To counter the threat, the Empire built a new prison, named Soniere, and a slew of new castles, including Scarleticia and Moravia. With its borders protected, it appeared that no outside force could ever defeat the Empire.

And it was true, no outside threat could topple such a well defended empire. But inner threats can topple any nation, no matter how powerful.

In the year 446, a mere forty years after the completion of Moravia Castle, Scarlet Moon entered a civil war. The emperor, Michelan Rugner, had passed away, and it seemed his son, Barbarossa Rugner, would inherit the throne. However, there was a problem, for Michelan's elder brother, Geil Rugner, wanted the throne for himself after his birthright as the first born was denied by his father. Having convinced, and blackmailed, the nobles of Scarlet Moon, Barbarossa's right to the throne was denied, and Geil himself was crowned. However, Barbarossa knew that it was he, and not his uncle, who was the rightful heir to the throne, and thus he amassed his own forces to reclaim what was rightfully his.

Barbarossa Rugner, last emperor of Scarlet Moon, armed with his trusted sword, Prakk

After many months of fighting, Geil's forces were defeated, and the pretender to the throne was thus executed by the rightful Emperor. But the war was not without sacrifice. Aside from the deaths of soldiers and citizens, the Empress Consort, Claudia, was assassinated by Geil's forces. It was a loss from which Barbarossa would never recover.

Emperor Barbarossa was a kind man, warm and wise, he was nicknamed the Golden Emperor. Under such a man, any kingdom or empire should flourish. But, Barbarossa was a person, first and foremost. And if there is one thing that's certain about people, is that we are flawed, and make mistakes.

A mere months after the civil war ended, the forces of Jowston invaded Scarlet Moon. The people of the empire, tired of war, were not happy that so many resources were being spent on the war effort. Barbarossa asked his supervisors for a way to rid Scarlet Moon of Jowston's armies. The chief strategist, Leon Silverberg, came up with a simple, yet horrifying idea: take the occupied town of Kalekka, drive off the occupying force, massacre the citizens leaving behind no witnesses or survivors, and blame the whole thing on Jowston. It worked, a pro war, anti Jowston sentiment arose across the empire. But, at a price: a great many soldiers, generals, and government officials that had known the truth of the incident defected from the Empire. With such a loss of talent, the Empire began to fill these roles with people that were far from deserving, such as the monstrous and corrupt Kraze Miles, who was made Captain of the Imperial Guard.

Pictured: Kraze Miles. Not Pictured: a decent human being.

Anti Imperial sentiment spread across the Empire like a flame in the night. Perhaps one of the most famous dissidents was a woman named Odessa Silverberg, niece to Leon Silverberg, and leader, as well as possible founder, of the Liberation Army, an armed force dedicated to toppling Imperial rule.

Pictured: Odessa Silverberg, one of the most awesome female characters in video games. Anita Sarkeesian has probably never heard of her.

Unfortunately, Odessa loses her life, sacrificing herself to save the life of a child. (On my next entry, I will discuss why Odessa is one of the best female characters in gaming, even after death.) She passes on leadership of the Liberation Army to Tir McDohl, son of the undefeated Imperial General Teo McDohl, and the main hero of Suikoden 1. Under Tir's leadership, the Liberation Army overthrows Scarlet Moon, to be replaced by a new, more representative government, the Toran Republic.

Tax theft, corruption, brutality, starvation, piracy. These are all problems that had plagued the Scarlet Moon during its waning years. And where was the Emperor during all this? Why didn't he do anything?

Emperor Barbarossa lost all motivation upon the loss of his wife, Claudia. During his ten year reign, he went from being a beloved ruler of the people, to a despot that did nothing as his empire crumbled. His Court Magician, Windy, used her strong semblance to Claudia, and the emperor's love for her, to fulfill her own dark ambitions. The emperor allowed his emotions to cloud him, disconnect him from the empire he had fought so hard for. His hands stained by the blood of innocents, it was the Golden Emperor, a man so loved by the people at first, a man who, when you remove the crown from his head proved time and again to be a good person, who brought down the end of the empire. Barbarossa's rule could have been the start of a Golden Age for Scarlet Moon, but was instead its downfall. But why? Why did it happen?

Because, at the end of the day, Barbarossa was a man. He had his strengths, and he had his weaknesses. But Barbarossa was not given the position of just any man, he was Emperor. He was a ruler, a leader. And when you're a leader, there is no room for flaws, no room for weaknesses. Barbarossa's weakness was that he never got past the death of his wife, Claudia. And therein lays an interesting question. What of the people who died for him? Did he mourn them as he did his wife? Did the people that died for Geil deserved to be mourned as well? Did Geil deserve someone to mourn him as Claudia did? If you will mourn someone who died in war, why not mourn everyone that has died? How many names of the people that died for him did Barbarossa memorize? And what would they say if they found out what they died for? Barbarossa didn't just destroy his empire, he sullied the sacrifices that were made in HIS name. In the end, power was placed in the hands of a weak man, a man who, when it came down to it, had no business being an emperor. The system that placed him in power had fallen into decay, allowing the cruel, the brutal, and the corrupt to assume positions of undue power. And when a system like this fails the people, it is the people themselves who rise up and destroy the system, replacing it with a new, better one.

And this happens in real life. When corruption is law, the lawless become heroes. When rulers show themselves to be inept, the followers look elsewhere for a leader. The governments that try to rule by fear, end up facing a population that is unafraid. Such is the spirit of revolution.

A warning to all governments, to all heads of state: You exist because of the will of the people. When you attempt to bamboozle your citizens, they will rise up and overthrow you. And if you need to use deadly force to quell dissent, then you have already lost. For power comes not from the threat of force, but from the consent of the governed.